When Two Worlds Meet

The Deal

Logan's POV

The elevator 'dinged' pleasantly as the doors opened. I stepped aside and greeted Mrs. Tisdale with a quiet "Good afternoon" as she walked out. She looked at the ground and ignored me, walking past me to the doors. I caught a pungent whiff of dog as she strode past. I walked into the elevator, grateful to leave the smell behind.

Most of the buttons for the lower floors were so worn that you could barely read them. I pressed the button marked 40, which lit up behind the crisp white letters. I pulled out my phone and read the article for my law paper I was supposed to be writing; the elevator was extremely slow and almost always stopped for at least one person on the way up.

About eight minutes later, the elevators 'dinged' open once again and I strode down the hallway to my apartment. The red carpet gave the appearance of long faded beauty; the corners were dusty and faded, giving the once crimson carpet a dulled look. The doors to the various apartments were a hideous shade of green; they passed me by as I walked fast paced down the hallway. The hallway was dimly lit, since the window at the end of the hall didn't provide much light and the overhead lights had yet to turn on.

I finally reached my apartment number, 40113. The number had never made sense to me; the forty was there for obvious reasons, but there were only 35 apartments on my floor, nowhere near 113. Maybe it was numbered for someone's birthday or something foolish like that.

I unlocked the door with a metallic clink and my door opened silently. It had been rusty and creaky when I first moved in but had bothered me so much that I had replaced the hinges. I flipped on the light and walked into my simple little apartment.

On my left was my coffee table surrounded by an armchair resting against my wall and a gray love-seat. A hallway shot off from the wall beside the love seat, which led to my room and the bathroom. A bookshelf took up the rest of that wall; the next section of the room was my dining room, with a simple wooden table surrounded by four spindly chairs.

A little kitchen island divided the rest of the room from my kitchen; I sniffed the air, then sighed; I was disappointed that I couldn't smell the rest of the coffee left over from this morning. I'd hoped it would stay warm for longer, but I wasn't willing to leave the pot on and cause a fire hazard. So I set a timer to turn the pot off after an hour.

As I walked in and hung up my bag by the door, my phone buzzed. I placed my black jacket over my bag and pulled it out of my pocket. Two texts from: Thomas it reported. I shrugged and pulled it up as I went to pour the rest of my coffee.

'I know u dont believe me but Im sending the pic anyway. It doesnt look that fake right?'

The picture from earlier was sent in the next text. I rolled my eyes as I texted back.

'First of all, u isn't the same as you.' I hit send.

'Second, please use apostrophes.' I hit send again.

'And third, magic isn't real. Therefore, the photograph must be fake.' Send.

The texting bubble popped up and disappeared several times as I sipped my coffee. I frowned at my cup; it was colder than it should be. I checked the machine to find that the timer hadn't worked and had turned off too soon. I pursed my lips and turned back to my phone.

'Dude it doesnt matter if I use u or you. Apostriphies take too long to use. And how do you know that magic isnt real?'

I closed my eyes and counted slowly to ten. Then I began texting again.

'Thomas, it is spelled "apostrophes", not that abomination you sent me. Is something wrong with your autocorrect?' I hit send.

As I continued texting, he responded 'cow'. I stared at it for a moment, pausing in my typing. "What?" I asked out loud.

'no stupid autocorrect' he texted after a second.

I gave up on correcting his grammar. There were too many problems there for one person. I watched as Thomas sent several short texts about why I should believe his theory. Abruptly, I was tired and beyond done with this conversation.

'I will take a look at the photograph on my phone for now. If you can get me the physical copy later that would be great. But I will only be looking for signs of altering.' I hit send.

'I swear that if I can't find anything fake about the photograph, I will....' I hesitated. 'help you collect evidence for your theory. Is that good enough?'

I was completely confident that I would be able to find something wrong with it. Magic wasn't real so this photograph had been staged somehow. It may have been taken before actual photoshop but there were other, more physical ways to fake a photograph.

Thomas texted back quickly.

'what about if u DO figure out if it's fake'

'Nothing.' I texted back after a minute of thinking. 'I don't want anything. Your theory isn't doing any harm, even if it is illogical. I simply want you to be aware that this photograph was falsified and remember that for next time.'

He texted back one word.

'done'

I smiled.

Author's Note: 'Sup guys? N.E.R.D. here. I just wanted to tell you guys that I'm really looking forward to the next couple chapters where the storyline starts to pick up and become more exciting. ;) Unfortunately, they won't be coming as often. The past few chapters I've posted at least once a day because I already had them written and saved; I was posting as often as I could. Now, I have to write the sections in between school, work, and service hours for a project, which will mean that I'll be taking a little longer. Not too much longer, hopefully (I'm as excited about this as you are) but it probably won't be every day. I hope you guys understand! I love you guys. Peace out.